Last June, Pate awoke from her sleep unable to move her legs. After months of questions, the 27-year-old married mother of two has learned that she has conversion disorder.

It’s "a (stress-related) mental health condition in which a person suffers paralysis, blindness or neurological symptoms which cannot be explained by medical evaluation,” the U.S. National Library of Medicine website states.

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Some people react to stress outwardly by yelling or physical activity. Others keep the stress within, causing symptoms like numbness or momentary paralysis.

Pate remembers experiencing similar symptoms earlier in life.

As a child, she “locked up” and temporarily couldn’t move, she said.

She recently had more lengthy loss of feeling in her right arm and endured a brief stint at North Okaloosa Medical Center’s intensive care unit after having trouble breathing.

She has visited several medical specialists, including physical therapists and chiropractors. The recovery process has been slow, but there have been strides. In March, she regained use of her right arm.

"I was reaching for something in my sleep, and it jarred me," Pate said. "O-M-G was all I could say."

Pate and her husband, Bryant, believe their Christian faith will allow her to walk soon.

"I am confident that something will happen soon," she said.

For now, she hopes to walk for a daughter’s upcoming birthday party and an upcoming wedding anniversary.

"We are just praying; that is our goal," Bryant said. "I don't know how deep (everyone's) faith is, but that is how deep our faith is."